The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin - PRINCESS IDA / 2013 The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin proudly presented Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant as our Summer Grand Production of 2013. We performed this classic, which was Arthur Sullivan & W. S. Gilbert’s eighth comic opera out of fourteen, for the first time in our history. Nine performances were presented, June 13-23 at the Worley Barton Theater at Brentwood Christian School. See photos | Watch videos Thank you to all the performers, crew, the Gillman Light Opera Orchestra, sponsors, volunteers, Society members, and record setting audiences for making this year's premiere of Princess Ida such a wonderful success. Artistic Director Ralph MacPhail, Jr. , Music Director Jeffrey Jones-Ragona , and Production Manager Bill Hatcher - along with a remarkable cast, orchestra and crew - created a show full of joy and delight. This melodic and hilarious comic opera features proto-feminist Princess Ida, the daughter of King Gama. The princess has founded a women's university from which all men are barred, and she and her faculty teach that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead.

Romantic Prince Hilarion, to whom Ida had been engaged in infancy, sneaks into the university along with two friends with the aim of claiming Hilarion’s bride. They disguise themselves as women students but are soon discovered, their male invasion instigating a hilarious war between the sexes. Princess Ida satirizes feminism, women’s education, masculine pugnacity and militarism, grand opera, and Darwinian evolution, some of which were controversial topics in conservative Victorian England. It is based on a narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson called “The Princess” (1847); Gilbert had written a farcical musical play based on the poem in 1870. In 1884, he lifted much of the dialogue of Princess Ida directly from his 1870 farce. This is the only three-act Gilbert & Sullivan opera. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances, and since that time it has never been out of the standard repertory of Gilbert & Sullivan (or Savoy) operas throughout the English-speaking world.

The 2012-2013 season B. Iden Payne Awards ceremony was held November 5, 2013 and our own Michelle Haché won the Outstanding Lead Actress in Musical Theater award for her role as Princess Ida. Jeffrey Jones-Ragona was nominated for Outstanding Music Direction for his wonderful work as musical director. Congratulations to Michelle and Jeffrey! Click here for a complete list of winners and nominees. Click here to see some photos from the ceremony. Click here to see our winners and nominees from previous years. Princess Ida by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan You are here: Archive Home > Princess Ida > Introduction Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant, was produced at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, but for some reason it never attained the success of the other operas. Yet when it was revived at the Princes Theatre on 24 January 1922, after a lapse of thirty-eight years, it was received throughout with the thunderous applause it so richly deserves, for it is full of true Gilbertian humour, and contains also some of Sullivan's most delightful music.

Hilarion It is perhaps the least known of the operas now regularly performed, but not necessarily therefore the least interesting, and is the only one of the series written in three acts. Act I opens with a scene in the pavilion of King Hildebrand's palace where he and his son Hilarion are eagerly awaiting the arrival of King Gama and his beautiful daughter Ida, to whom Hilarion had been betrothed at the early age of one. But King Gama, a small, twisted and ungainly monarch, famed for his biting sarcasm, arrives with his three warrior sons but without the Princess, who refuses to leave Castle Adamant, where she rules a woman's University, in order to surrender herself to Hilarion as his wife. King Hildebrand King Hildebrand is highly annoyed at Ida's offhand behaviour and orders his son to set off at once and claim the Princess as his bride; meantime he arrests his four royal visitors and threatens to hang King Gama "most politely" should anything happen to Hilarion whilst on his mission to the Princess.

King Gama and his sons are chained and held as hostages while Prince Hilarion and his two friends, Cyril and Florian, set forth to engage Ida, not by force, but by love — "We'll storm their bowers with scented showers of fairest flowers..." Florian Act II is set in the gardens of Castle Adamant where Princess Ida has assembled around her a number of highly born young women who, like herself, have sworn to have nothing whatever to do with Man. "Man", as Lady Psyche (Professor of Humanities) puts it, "will swear and Man will storm — Man is not at all good form" — in fact "Man's a ribald — Man's a rake, Man is Nature's sole mistake!" Princess Ida In due course Hilarion, Cyril and Florian arrive and clamber over the castle wall and, finding some Academic robes, dress themselves up as three lady undergraduates.

The two trios they sing, "Gently, gently, evidently we are safe so far", and "I am a maiden, cold and stately", followed by the Quintette, "The woman of the wisest wit", and what might be described as Cyril's drinking song, "Would you know the kind of maid", are delightful in the extreme; in fact practically all the songs in Act II are so exceedingly tuneful that it is difficult to understand why the original production ran for only nine months, for in the Finale there is what is possibly the most beautiful, serious, poem that Gilbert ever wrote — sung by Hilarion to the Princess: "Whom thou hast chained must wear his chain, Thou canst not set himfree, He wrestles with his bonds in vain Who lives by loving thee! If heart of stone for heart of fire, Be all thou hast to give, If dead to me my heart's desire Why should I wish to live? . .

." When Hilarion and his friends meet the Princess she fails to penetrate their disguise and invites them to join her ranks, provided they will undertake never to marry a man and will give the fulness of their love to the hundred maids within her castle walls, rules to which they willingly subscribe. Melissa But their secret is soon discovered by Lady Psyche, who turns out to be Florian's sister. However, she promises to help them, as also does Melissa — daughter of Lady Blanche (Professor of Abstract Science) — who never having set eyes on men before thinks they are infinitely more beautiful than women. Lady Blanche On the contrary her mother, who dearly wishes to supplant the Princess and rule in her stead, knowing a man when she sees one realizes that the three new students are certainly not young ladies, but on hearing from Melissa that one of them is Prince Hilarion himself, come to claim his bride, she, too, decides to aid his plan as, with the Princess married and out of the way she, the scorned Lady Blanche would then inevitably become head of the University.

During the luncheon which follows, Cyril gets tipsy and sings his famous"drinking song", "Oh, kiss me, kiss me", to which reference has already been made. It is then only too obvious to the Princess that the three new students are men in disguise and, rising hurriedly, she orders the girls to flee while she herself, running on to the bridge, loses her balance and falls into the stream. Lady Psyche calls upon Hilarion to save Ida. He does so, but in her anger she nevertheless has the three young men arrested and sentences them to death. Princess Ida As they are marched off King Hildebrand and his men enter, with Ida's three warrior brothers still handcuffed. The King demands the instant release of Hilarion and his friends and points out that if she refuses he will hang her brothers and storm and level her halls "in the twinkling of an eye". But despite the pleadings of her girls the Princess refuses to yield.

In Act III the ladies are busy arming themselves to resist the foe though, in reality, they admit they are distinctly frightened, and when the Princess asks if they are ready to fight Man on his own ground and beat him there she discovers that, when put to the test, her women fail her in practically every contingency. King Gama King Gama enters with a message for Ida from King Hildebrand saying that he is loth to war with women, and when her father, who loves to grumble at everything, explains to her that he is tortured by being given the choicest wines, the costliest robes, the richest rooms so that he has nothing whatever to grumble at, the Princess, realizing how her poor father must have suffered, yields, to everyone's intense relief, and so the opera ends with Hilarion and Princess Ida reunited, while Cyril and Florian take the Ladies Psyche and Melissa as their intended brides. Arac Princess Ida was a new version of Tennyson's poem "The Princess" which Gilbert had already put into dramatic form fourteen years before at the Olympic Theatre.

The same names are used in the opera as in the poem and, except for the alteration of the word "this" for "the", the last four lines of the opera, before the final chorus, are taken word for word from the last canto of Tennyson's poem. The opera was a satire on the Women's Rights Movement, which was one of the most disturbing and absorbing questions at the time. It was in this opera that Sir Henry Lytton (1867-1936) first made his appearance as a Savoyard, thanks to his young wife, Miss Louise Henri, who was then engaged for the chorus that was to go on tour. They were both extremely young; in fact Sir Henry, without permission, took a few days off from school in order to get married. Although this led to a painful interview with the Headmaster on his return, it led also to the commencement of a long and brilliant career with The Gilbert and Sullivan Company. The night before the production of Princess Ida Sullivan was taken seriously ill and despite an injection of morphia the violent pain remained unabated.

The next day he lay inert and helpless but he was determined to conduct the performance nevertheless, and the following account taken from his diary for Saturday, 5 January 1884, gives an example of his remarkable will power, a case of mind overcoming matter despite tremendous odds. "Resolved to conduct the first performance of the new opera Princess Ida at night, but from the state I was in it seemed hopeless. At 7 p.m. had another strong hypodermic injection to case the pain, and a strong cup of black coffee to keep me awake. Managed to get up and dress, and drove to the theatre more dead than alive-went into the orchestra at 8.10. Tremendous house — usual reception. Very fine performance — not a hitch. Brilliant success. After the performance I turned very faint and could not stand". In many ways the Fates were very kind to Sullivan, showering upon him their gifts, yet at other times they treated him cruelly, for the first night of Princess Ida, like that of Iolanthe, was a night of unforgetable torment for him.

Moreover he suffered a great deal from kidney stones and although he underwent an operation for their removal he was never really free from pain for any length of time. On summing up the opera on its first night the critic of the "Times" remarked that it had "the great merit of putting everyone in a good temper"; and surely nothing could express the truth about Gilbert and Sullivan better than that. Princess Ida by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan You are here: Archive Home > Princess Ida > Plot Summary ACT I There is an air of expectancy at King Hildebrand's Castle, for it is the day on which Princess Ida, the daughter of King Gama, should appear to meet Prince Hilarion, to whom she was betrothed twenty years before, when she was one, and he only two, years old. Soldiers and Courtiers are discovered scanning the landscape, and debating as to whether the Princess will come.

King Hildebrand King Hildebrand appears, and asks if Gama has yet been sighted, adding that if he does not come before sunset, bringing the Princess with him, "there's war between King Gama and ourselves." He hates the coming interview with Gama, who is twisted in body and warped in mind, his one pleasure being to wound with his spiteful tongue. Gama is seen in the distance, but is apparently without the Princess. Hildebrand, puzzled, bids the best and the worst to be brought . . . the richest robes, the coarsest prison dress, for, as Gama brings the Princess or brings her not, so shall he have "Much more than everything, much less than nothing." Hilarion Hilarion enters and sings in anticipation of his meeting with Ida. He is, however, uneasy because he has heard that she had forsworn the world, and, with a band of women, shut herself up within a lonely country house, there to study stern philosophies. His father tells him that a reasonable man would be reconciled to the loss of such a wife, but Hilarion refuses to be thus advised.

The sons of King Gama approach, and, having entered, sing of their valour. Gama is with them, and introduces himself in a song that reveals his spiteful nature, although, obtusely enough, he "can't think why" people should say he is a disagreeable man! Arac After an exchange of anything but compliments, Gama informs Hildebrand that he has not brought the Princess, who refuses to leave her "University," having renounced mankind. In this retreat, even the crowing is done by an "accomplished hen." King Gama Gama tells the young men that, if they "humbly beg and humbly sue, most politely," the Princess may deign to look upon them. But Hildebrand retorts that, while they will make the attempt, Gama shall remain as hostage, and"should Hilarion disappear, we will hang you, never fear, 'most politely'." Hilarion and his friends determine to try their fortune, Gama and his three sons being kept as hostages against their safe return.

ACT II In the gardens of Castle Adamant, Princess Ida's country home, the graduates of the Women's University are discovered seated at the feet of Lady Psyche, the Professor of Humanities. Their song is interrupted by the entry of Lady Blanche (Professor of Abstract Science), who proceeds to read the "list of punishments," after which Princess Ida approaches. She is welcomed as "Mighty maiden with a mission" and delivers her inaugural address, which takes the form of a tirade against Man, following which the curriculum for the day is reviewed. Lady Blanche is to lecture on Abstract Philosophy, under three heads . . . "The Is, the Might Be, and the Must." Princess Ida The Princess and the maidens pass on, leaving Lady Blanche to reflection and soliloquy, from which it is quite evident that she considers Lady Blanche would make a far better Principal than the Princess. Lady Blanche She goes off, and Hilarion and his two friends are seen climbing the wall. Having successfully negotiated the broken bottles adorning the top, they are highly diverted at having reached the jealouslyguarded precincts without detection.

They find some academic robes left by the maidens, and these make such an effective disguise, that they decide, on seeing the Princess approaching, to pose as three wellborn maidens who wish to join the University. She questions them and they manage to steer sufficiently clear of pitfalls to satisfy her as to their suitability. Together they lament the hollow pleasures of the world, and the Princess leaves them to meditate on the extraordinary fix into which they have been landed. Amid much merriment they decide to see the thing through, but their mirth is checked by the entrance of Lady Psyche, who is Florian's sister. There is only one way out and that is to let her into the secret. This they do, and she informs them that the penalty, if they are discovered, is death. She is, nevertheless, very pleased to see them and tells them more about the objects of the University. She points her argument with the story of "The Ape and the Lady." Melissa Meanwhile, Melissa, another of the girl graduates, enters unobserved and overhears them. She is, however, so fascinated on beholding a man for the first time, that she readily agrees to keep the secret.

A closer inspection begins to shake the girls' faith in the principles enunciated by Ida and, in the quintet that follows, the change of view is very pronounced. Melissa is left alone, and is presently joined by Lady Blanche, her mother, who has been attracted by the singing. She remarks how odd it is that of the three new "girls" two should be tenors, and one a baritone. Her suspicions are confirmed when she picks up the reticule dropped by one of them and finds that it contains not only scissors and needles, but . . . cigars! Melissa pleads with Lady Blanche, and, knowing the latter's jealousy of Princess Ida, reminds her that if she furthers Hilarion's scheme, Ida will marry him, and leave Blanche to "rule the roast." Florian When Lady Blanche has gone, Melissa sees Florian and urges him to fly. He is about to do so, taking her with him, when the luncheon bell is heard, and the Princess with Hilarion, Cyril, the Staff and Students, appear; also "Daughters of the Plough," bearing luncheon.

Having heard that the three new students know the Court of King Hildebrand, the Princess, although affecting indifference, makes sly inquiries as to his son, Hilarion. The disguised youth answers cleverly, but unfortunately Cyril is taking too much wine, and after various rather dangerous interruptions, bursts into the famous "Kissing Song." It is at once discovered that they are men. The Princess, in panic, runs towards the rustic bridge that crosses the stream flowing through the grounds. Hilarion follows, endeavoring to explain; the Princess misses her footing and falls into the water. Hilarion springs in after her and brings her safely to shore, amid the plaudits of the assembled company. Ida, however, is furious at the trick which has been played and orders the arrest of the three young men, which command is carried out by "The Daughters of the Plough." Hilarion is bound, and the three are marched off. At this moment Melissa rushes in and tells the Princess that an armed band is without the Castle walls, demanding admittance in the name of King Hildebrand. As she speaks, the gate is battered down, and soldiers rush in; with them are the three sons of King Gama in chains.

Hildebrand follows and tells the Princess that he has come to claim fulfillment of the vow which was made when she was a child, and that if she refuses, he will raze her castle to the ground. To the King's threat the three brothers, Arac, Guron and Scynthius add their entreaties, for Hildebrand has promised them that if he fails in his quest they will most certainly be hanged. He gives Ida twentyfour hours for her answer. The Act closes with the Princess hurling defiance at the invader. ACT III The Outer Walls of the Courtyard at Castle Adamant The Princess has decided to fight, and Melissa, Sacharissa and the ladies are assembled, armed with battleaxes. The Princess enters, attended by Blanche and Psyche, and issues her instructions. Unfortunately, her theories break down in practice, and not one of the ladies is willing to perform the duties allotted to her. For example, Sacharissa is required to be the surgeon, but she cannot bear the thought of cutting off real live legs and arms. The fusiliers have not brought their rifles because they "might go off," the band do not feel well and are therefore not present.

Princess Ida Chloe and all the ladies enter and announce the approach of Ida's father, King Gama, and her brothers. Gama explains that Hildebrand is loth to war with women, and he has therefore sent the Princess's brothers to fight for her against Hilarion and his two friends. Gama tells Ida his punishment and the tortures he has endured, which consisted of having "nothing whatever to grumble at"; to his warped nature this being the worst that could be conceived. Ida is so moved by the tale of woe that she agrees to the contest taking place. Disillusioned, she sings of the failure of her ambitions. The gates are opened and soldiers with the three sons of Gama enter. Hilarion, Florian, and Cyril are led in by the "Daughters of the Plough." They are still bound and wear their academic robes. Gama finds food for his mordant wit in their appearance, and goads them on for the fight. The fight takes place, Hilarion and his friends being victorious. The Princess begs them to stay their hands.

She asks Lady Blanche if she can with dignity resign her post, in which case will she (Lady Blanche) take her place? This, of course, is just what Lady Blanche wants, and she takes the opportunity to indulge in a little abstract philosophy. So the Princess yields to Hilarion, Lady Psyche to Cyril, and Melissa to Florian. Lady Blanche is left, having achieved her heart's desire to be the principal of the "University." She promises the other three that they shall return to their former positions should they ever desire to do so, and the opera ends in general joy. [Plot summary from the book The Victor Book of the Opera, RCA Manufacturing Co., Camden, NJ, 1936.] Download this plot summary in text format. f.y.e. - Gilbert & Sullivan: Princess Ida Gilbert & Sullivan: Princess Ida add to wishlist DVDs & Blu-ray include disc, cover art, and case. Bonus downloadable or promotional content may have already been redeemed. Promotional items (3-D glasses, figurines, t-shirts, posters, jewelry, books or other non-media items) may not be included. Cleaning and repair was done as required.

Information The Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra perform this 1982 version of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera +Princess Ida. The titular princess (Nan Christie) decides to start up a women's university rather than marry her fiancé, Prince Hilarion (Laurence Dale). He and his friends, Cyril (Bernard Dickerson) and Florian (Richard Jackson), dress up as women in order to attend the school. Also starring Frank Gorshin as King Gama and Neil Howlett as King Hidlebrand. Princess Ida is part of the Opera World Series of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas originally produced for British television in the '80s. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi Read More 2. Overture and Credits [7:44] 3. Now Hearken to My Strict Command (Song: Hildebrand and Chorus) [1:40] 4. Twenty Years Ago! (Ballad: Hilarion) [4:08] 5. We Are Warriors Three, Sons of Gama, Rex (Song: Arac With Guron and Scynthius) [3:15] 6.

Yet Everybody Says I'm Such a Disagreeable Man! And I Can't Think Why! (Song: Gama) [5:35] 7. Perhaps if You Address the Lady Most Politely, Most Politely (Duet: Gama and Hildebrand) [1:29] 8. Expressive Glances Shall Be Our Lances (Trio: Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian) [3:22] 9. For a Month to Dwell in a Dungeon Cell... Is a Poor Look-Out for a Soldier Stout (Trio: Arac, Guron, and Scynthius) [1:53] 10. Entr'acte: Fairbanks [1:03] 11. Towards the Empyrean Heights We've Taken Several Easy Flights (Chorus: Graduates With Psyche) [6:28] 12. Oh, Goddess Wise That Lovest Light (Aria: Ida) [8:48] 13. They Intend to Send a Wire to the Moon (Song: Hilarion) [2:35] 14.

I Am a Maiden, Cold and Stately (Trio: Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian) [9:19] 15. A Lady Fair, of Lineage High, Was Loved by an Ape, in the Days Gone By (Song: Psyche) [3:44] 16. The Woman of the Wisest Wit May Sometimes Be Mistaken, O! (Quintet: Psyche, Melissa, Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian) [9:29] 17. Would You Know the Kind of Maid Sets My Heart Aflame-a? (Song: Cyril) [7:30] 18. For I'm a Peppery Kind of King, Who's Indisposed for Parleying (Song: Hildebrand) [3:51] 19. To Yield at Once to Such a Foe With Shame Were Rife (Ida and Ensemble) [2:46] 20. Entr'acte: Fairbanks [1:33] 22. I Built Upon a Rock (Song: Ida) [5:36] 23. With Nothing Whatever to Grumble At!

(Song: Gama) [3:30] 24. This Helmet, I Suppose, Was Meant to Ward Off Blows (Song: Arac) [11:06] Read More Release Date: October 22, 2002 MPAA Rating: Future Shows - The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company -The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company - Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company Future Shows Orpheus in the Underworld – Fall 2017 The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is pleased to announce that it will present Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, from October 27th through November 19th of 2017. This production of Orpheus in the Underworld will be directed by Lesley Hendrickson. Gilbert knew and liked the Offenbach operettas and stated that he hoped to emulate his work, but in a more distinctly British style. Gilbert was particularly adamant that his plots and staging would allow any Englishman to feel comfortable bringing his wife and daughters to see the shows.

Offenbach’s libretti, after all, were the very definition of “too French!” Offenbach and his various librettists share Gilbert’s interest in topical satire and character-based humor. And both liked to see pretty girls on stage — though Gilbert’s chorus ladies were costumed rather more discreetly. This satiric retelling of the Orpheus legend is set in Ancient Greece (or at least an Ancient Greece that seems a lot like France of the second empire). Comparison of the households of the Emperor Napoleon III and the god Jupiter, so unlike the home life of our own dear queen, suggests serious family dysfunction on both parts. In Act I, down on earth, Orpheus is annoyed at his bored wife Eurydice for cheating on him. When she is abducted by Pluto and swept away to the underworld, Orpheus is forced to visit Mount Olympus (Act II) to ask for the gods’ help in getting her back – if only to appease Public Opinion, here a character in her own right. In Act III, everyone ends up in the underworld. Pluto, Jupiter and Orpheus are all competing for Eurydice, but the rest of gods are there for the party!

Orpheus in the Underworld was first performed in 1858, and reached London in 1865. Its success was one of the inspirations for the creation of a home-grown English operetta, and for Richard D’Oyly Carte’s pairing of Gilbert and Sullivan to accomplish it. Orpheus in the Underworld was revised in 1874 to the full four-act version with chorus, and achieved even greater popularity. The English adaptation we are using was created for the 1985 English National Opera production. An excellent internet resource for information about Orpheus in the Underworld Wikipedia – Orpheus in the Underworld Princess Ida – Spring 2018 The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is pleased to announce that it will present Princess Ida, from March 2nd through March 25th of 2018. Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant tells the story of Princess Ida and Prince Hilarion, who were married in infancy by their fathers, King Gama and King Hildebrand.

Ida, however, refuses to be bound by the decisions that others have made for her and has left her father’s court to establish a college for women from which all men are barred. Hilarion and his friends infiltrate the castle, disguised as women, in Hilarion’s attempt to win Princess Ida’s love. King Hildebrand, however, grows impatient and storms the castle. Ida is abandoned by her women, who fear a military conflict, and is failed by her brothers who offer to fight for her, but lose. Ultimately, as she has come to know Hilarion, realizes that she loves him and decides for herself that she will consent to their marriage. In Princess Ida, Gilbert satirizes feminism, women’s education and Darwinian evolution, which were controversial topics in conservative Victorian England. The operetta is based on a narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, called The Princess, written in 1847. Gilbert had written a farcical musical play, based on the poem, in 1870, and lifted much of the dialogue of Princess Ida directly from his 1870 farce.

Princess Ida is the only Gilbert and Sullivan opera in three acts and the only one with dialogue in blank verse. Princess Ida was produced between Iolanthe and The Mikado, when Gilbert and Sullivan were at the height of their creative powers. The score is Sullivan at his best, and some people consider that Gilbert’s libretto contains some of his funniest lines. Two excellent internet resources for information about Princess Ida The Gilbert & Sullivan Archive – Princess Ida The Mikado – Spring 2019 The Gilbert & Sullivan Very Light Opera Company is pleased to announce that it will present The New Mikado, in March of 2019. This production is based upon the adaptation by R. A. Shiomi of the original version of The Mikado, and will be directed by Rick Shiomi. In Shiomi’s re-imagined version of The Mikado, flirting is still declared a crime and punishable by death. Yet there is a lot of flirting going on in the town of Ti-Tea-Pu, in the land of England. In anticipation of the arrival of the monarch, The Mikado, a tailor has been appointed Lord High Executioner and must behead someone before his majesty arrives.

The tailor himself is involved in a love triangle and attempts to set up his rival, Franky-Poo, before he loses his own head. It’s all the fun and games of Gilbert and Sullivan, with a modern twist. Shiomi describes his vision for this retelling of the classic operetta, “Our re-imagined production of The Mikado will deconstruct the unfortunate stereotypes while still retaining the humor and classic music; getting at the heart of the universal human experience through the lens of our diverse contemporary American culture.” Rick Shiomi’s editorial in which he discusses his previous mounting of this production can be found here . All performances will be at the Howard Conn Fine Arts Center, at Plymouth Congregational Church, located at 1900 Nicollet Avenue South, in Minneapolis. If you would like to be notified about when to order tickets, we invite you to add your name to our mailing list . This way we will know how to contact you! We never sell our mailing list to other parties. “The Present as we speak becomes the Past, The Past repeats itself, and so is Future! This sounds involved. It’s not.

It’s right enough.” —Lady Blanche Harlequin Costume -Theatrical Costume Rentals for Opera, Gilbert & Sullivan and Musical Theatre - About Princess Ida About Princess Ida Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant, is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances. The piece concerns a princess who founds a women's university and teaches that women are superior to men and should rule in their stead. The prince to whom she had been married in infancy sneaks into the university, together with two friends, with the aim of collecting his bride. They disguise themselves as women students but are discovered, and all soon face a literal war between the sexes. The opera satirizes feminism, women's education, and Darwinian evolution, which were controversial topics in conservative Victorian England. Princess Ida is based on a narrative poem by Alfred Tennyson called The Princess, and Gilbert had written a farcical parody of the poem in 1870. He lifted much of the dialogue of Princess Ida directly from his 1870 farce.

It is the only Gilbert and Sullivan opera in three acts and the only one with dialogue in blank verse. By Savoy Opera standards, Princess Ida was not considered a success (a particularly hot summer in London did not help ticket sales), and it was not revived in London until 1919. Nevertheless, the piece is performed regularly today by both professional and amateur companies, although not as frequently as the most popular of the Savoy operas. This was the eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan. Synopsis Act I In a pavilion at King Hildebrand's palace, courtiers wait expectantly for the arrival of King Gama and his daughter Princess Ida, who was betrothed in infancy to Hildebrand's son, Prince Hilarion (Search throughout the panorama). Hildebrand promises to wage war against Gama if the Princess should fail to appear (Now hearken to my strict command), while Hilarion, who is in love with Ida, although he has not seen her since he was two years old, wonders how she may have changed over the ensuing twenty years (Ida was a twelvemonth-old).

Ida's war-like (and dull) brothers Arac, Guron and Scynthius, arrive at Hildebrand's palace (We are warriors three) preceding their father. King Gama enters, explains his misanthropy (If you give me your attention I will tell you what I am), and promptly displays it by insulting Hildebrand and his son. He then announces that Princess Ida has forsworn men and founded a women's university at Castle Adamant, one of his many country houses. The two Kings advise Hilarion to go to Castle Adamant to claim Ida, and that if she refuses him, Hildebrand will storm the castle (Pr'haps if you address the lady). But Hilarion plans to use romantic means, rather than force, to gain the princess's love. He explains that nature has "armed" him and his friends, the courtiers Cyril and Florian, to win this "war" (Expressive glances will be our lances). The three set off to Castle Adamant, while King Gama and his sons are to remain at Hildebrand's palace as hostages (For a month to dwell in a dungeon cell).

Act II At Castle Adamant, Princess Ida's pupils learn that "man is nature's sole mistake" (Towards the Empyrean heights). One of the Professors, Lady Blanche, doles out the punishments for the day, for "offences" that include bringing chessmen to the university ? "men with whom you give each other mate" ? and for sketching a double-perambulator. Princess Ida arrives (Minerva! Oh hear me) and delivers a stern lecture, stating that women's brains are larger than men's, and predicting that woman shall conquer man, but that once having conquered, woman will treat man better than he has treated her. Lady Blanche resents the Princess and predicts that one day she will replace her as head of the university (Come mighty must, a song often cut from the D'Oyly Carte productions). Hilarion, Cyril and Florian sneak into Castle Adamant (Gently, gently). They scoff at the idea of a woman's college. Finding some discarded academic robes, the three men disguise themselves as young maidens wishing to join the university (I am a maiden cold and stately) and are welcomed by Princess Ida (The world is but a broken toy).

Florian realises that their disguises won't fool his sister, Lady Psyche (one of the professors), and they take her into their confidence. Lady Psyche warns them that they will face death if the Princess discovers who they are and informs them of the Princess's theories on man, using a parable about an ape who falls in love with a high-born lady to illustrate her point that Darwinian "Man, sprung from an Ape, is Ape at heart" (A lady fair of lineage high). Melissa, Lady Blanche's daughter, has overheard them, but, fascinated by the first men she has ever seen, swears herself to secrecy. She falls in love with Florian at first sight, and the company celebrate joyously the discovery that men are not the monsters that Princess Ida had claimed (The woman of the wisest wit). Lady Blanche, who has not fallen for the men's disguises, confronts Melissa. Though indignant at first, she is persuaded to keep the men's secret when her daughter points out that if Hilarion is able to woo Princess Ida, Blanche will become head of the university (Now, wouldn't you like to rule the roast?).

During lunch (Merrily rings the luncheon bell), Cyril gets tipsy and inadvertently gives away his friends' identity by singing a bawdy song (Wouldn't you know the kind of maid). In the ensuing confusion, Princess Ida falls into a stream, and Hilarion rescues her (Oh joy, our chief is saved). Despite her rescue, Ida condemns Hilarion and his friends to death. Hilarion counters that without her love to live for, he welcomes death (Whom thou hast chained). King Hildebrand and his soldiers arrive, with Ida's brothers in chains. He reminds her that she is bound by contract to marry Hilarion and gives her until the following afternoon to comply (Some years ago) or incur the guilt of fratricide. The defiant Ida replies that, although Hilarion saved her life and is fair, strong, and tall, she would rather die than be his bride (To yield at once to such a foe). Act III Princess Ida reviews her student troops' readiness to meet Hildebrand's soldiers in battle, but the terrified girls admit that they are afraid of fighting (Death to the invader!).

Princess Ida is disgusted by their lack of courage and vows that, if necessary, she will fight Hildebrand's army alone (I built upon a rock). Her father, King Gama, arrives with a message that Hildebrand prefers not to go to war against women. He reveals that Hildebrand has been torturing him by treating him in luxury and giving him nothing to complain about (Whene'er I spoke sarcastic joke). He suggests that, instead of subjecting her women to all-out war, she pit her three strong, brave brothers against Hilarion and his friends, with Ida's hand to depend on the outcome. Ida is insulted to be "a stake for fighting men" but realises that she has no alternative. Hildebrand's forces enter, together with Gama and his three sons (When anger spreads his wing). Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian are still in their women's robes, and King Gama and his sons ridicule them. In preparation for battle, Gama's sons shed their heavy armour, saying that it is too uncomfortable for combat (This helmet I suppose).

The fight ensues, with Hilarion, Cyril, and Florian defeating Gama's sons (It is our duty plain). Her wager lost, Ida yields to Hilarion and bitterly asks Lady Blanche if she can resign her post with dignity. The delighted Blanche, who will succeed her as head of the university, assures her that she can. Ida laments the failure of her "cherished scheme," but King Hildebrand points out the fatal flaw in her logic: If you enlist all women in your cause, And make them all abjure tyrannic Man, The obvious question then arises, "How Is this Posterity to be provided?" Princess Ida admits, "I never thought of that!" Hilarion makes an emotional appeal, urging her to give Man one chance, while Cyril observes that if she grows tired of the Prince, she can return to Castle Adamant. Lady Psyche says that she, too, will return if Cyril does not behave himself, but Melissa swears that she will not return under any circumstances. Finally, Ida admits that she has been wrong, and declares that indeed she loves Hilarion, ending with a quotation directly from the Tennyson poem.

All celebrate, (With joy abiding). Musical Numbers

Question: King Gama and King Hildebrand are monarchs in which Gilbert and Sullivan opera?
Answer: PRINCESS IDA